Tennis Sensation Coco Gauff Is under Fire for Praying after She Won US Open

Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open at only 19 years old. The young tennis champion has been all over the media, but one video of her praying after her big win has caused a bit of controversy.

Coco Gauff, a 19-year-old girl from Delray Beach, Florida, USA, has become the youngest American woman to win the U.S. Open since Serena Williams won at the same age in 2001.

Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday, and her win has flooded the media. This was the 19-year-old's first Grand Slam, after playing only two finals.

The new tennis champion's reactions to the big win have been circulating on the internet, but there was one that sparked a discussion among internet users.

Gauff was seen going on her knees and saying a little prayer after winning, but when ESPN's Twitter page posted the video, it was captioned, "@CocoGauff took a moment to soak it all in after winning her first Grand Slam title."

However, the Super Bowl champion head coach, Tony Dungy, was not too pleased about ESPN's choice of words. He responded, "I hate to break this to you, SportsCenter, but Coco Gauff was not 'soaking it all in' at this moment. She was praying. And added that Gauff had been open about her religious beliefs.

However, the tweet caught the attention of many more internet users, especially after a football player with the Facebook username T.J.Moe, also called out ESPN and wrote, "ESPN tried to say she was "soaking it all in." Nah, that's prayer, and it's fantastic to see a young athlete know where it all came from."

But the comment did not sit well with a few commenters, and they thought Moe was insinuating that God helped her win the game when other people lost their lives to an earthquake in Morroco.

Aside from Moe's comment, some people thought the prayer was also directed at her opponent. "... More blessed than the opponent? Which she is thanking God for? Added another netizen. While all these conversations are erupting on the internet, Gauff revealed that she saw all the negative things said about her.

Coco Gauff Responds To the Haters

Gauff was proud of her hard-earned victory and was thankful to her parents and her faith that kept her going. She looked back at her loss at the French Open, said it was part of the ups and downs of life, and expressed how grateful she was for the life she had.

However, she also had a few things to say about those who did not believe in her. "Honestly, to those who thought you were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it – and now I'm really burning so bright right now," said Gauff.

Although there was negativity surrounding Gauff's prayer, there were positive comments, too. One commenter said a replacement for Serena Williams had finally been found.

While others said the young tennis champion was an inspiration and admired how thankful she was for victory. Fans also loved to see Gauff grow and become better with each game.

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